Vol. 534 No. 4
235 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason there is a delay in paying the grant towards a school secretary for a school (details supplied) in Dublin 24; when the grant will now be paid; if there are delays generally in the processing and payment of these grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10957/01]
I am pleased to inform the Deputy that a grant in respect of secretarial services will be issued today to the schools in question.
These schools are funded in respect of secretarial services under a scheme introduced in 1992 as part of the Programme for Economic and Social Progress. The PESP scheme provides per capita grants for primary schools towards secretarial services which are paid as additions to the standard per capita grants. Under this scheme, qualifying schools receive grants of £20 per pupil subject to a maximum of £10,000.
This grant is one of a large number of grants now being paid directly to school bank accounts by electronic fund transfer. As the grant is calculated on the basis of the total enrolment in the schools on 30 September last, it was necessary for my officials to ensure that all the necessary data was verified before the transfer of funds could take place. I can assure the Deputy that every effort will be made to ensure that the grant is paid at the earliest opportunity in future years.
236 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Education and Science when a scheme for the employment of school secretaries will be put in place; if it will go further than replacing school secretaries who were participants on community employment and jobs initiatives schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10958/01]
My Department provides funding towards the cost of secretarial and caretaking services in primary and secondary schools under two separate schemes. One scheme is the 1978-79 scheme for the employment of school secretaries in primary and secondary schools, and caretakers in primary schools, under which my Department meets the full cost of salary. However, this scheme has been superseded in the PESP agreement of 1992 by a more extensive grant scheme.
The PESP scheme provides additional per capita grants for primary and secondary schools towards secretarial and caretaking services. These grants are paid as additions to the standard per capita grants. This scheme does not provide for the linking of the additional per capita grants to any particular pay scale. The scheme, by its nature, is flexible and gives boards of management discretion as to the manner in which secretarial and caretaking services are to be provided. Secretaries and caretakers employed by schools are employees of the individual schools and my Department does not have any role in determining the pay and conditions under which they are employed.
At primary level, I increased the rates of grant by 33% from £30 per pupil to £40 per pupil with effect from January 2000. Furthermore, with effect from September 2000, I extended the scheme to all primary schools. In addition, I have set a minimum grant of £2,400 per annum which is payable to all schools with 60 pupils or fewer.
These improvements mean that, for the first time, all primary schools now qualify for an annual grant to assist them with the provision of secretarial and caretaking services. The Government's commitment in this regard can also be measured by the fact that the funding allocated for this purpose, which was approximately £5.6 million in 1999, increased in 2000 to approximately £12.2 million and has further increased this year to approximately £16.8 million.
At second level, in addition to the funding arrangements outlined above, schools now receive additional annual funding of £20 per pupil, with a minimum payment of £4,000 per school under the school services support fund. This fund will channel an additional £7 million to second level schools each year. Provision for secretarial and caretaking support is a particular focus of this fund. The introduction of this additional annual funding is a significant contribution towards enabling schools to meet their commitments.
